Review of Underdog Bet
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Lauren Victoria
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Review of Underdog Bet
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Underdog Bet" by Sara Castaneda.]
Underdog Bet by Sara Castaneda is a collection of poetry. I liked the book's name, which was also highlighted in one of the poems. The poem 'Underdog Bet' discusses the meaning of the word underdog and what it means to bet for the underdog rather than the top dog. This topic is the running theme of the book overall. The author states that their poems are for the underdogs or those rooting for them, and I took that to heart as I sat and read these poems.
I enjoyed the structure of these poems, the most of which was the flow of the prose. It wasn't a constant rhythm, but there were steady rhymes in the words that made it easy to read each one. It's a delicate balance between just enough and too much that the author does well. I found myself reading through the poems very quickly and only stopping to reread the ones I enjoyed more.
Whether it was the loss of love or other things in life, or the complex understanding that not everything works out for the better, but one must keep moving forward, the theme of the underdog was woven through these poems.
Some of my favorite ones are 'Atlas' and 'Tree of Life'. My favorite poems all talk about life, the struggles, and the imperfect perfection inside each of us. Writing about the bold and beautiful is easy, but it takes rawness to talk about the struggles. I admire the author for their outlook on life. This book is summed up perfectly in these few lines toward the end;
"I felt ALL at once
I felt its Everything."
The author makes you feel everything, all at once, as you read through each piece. They are connected and yet different, just like life.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys poetry and reading about life and the underdog in all of us. Due to its excellent editing, my readthrough contained no errors, and there was nothing I would change about it. I give this book five out of five stars for all the reasons I listed above.
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Underdog Bet
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Underdog Bet by Sara Castaneda is a collection of poetry. I liked the book's name, which was also highlighted in one of the poems. The poem 'Underdog Bet' discusses the meaning of the word underdog and what it means to bet for the underdog rather than the top dog. This topic is the running theme of the book overall. The author states that their poems are for the underdogs or those rooting for them, and I took that to heart as I sat and read these poems.
I enjoyed the structure of these poems, the most of which was the flow of the prose. It wasn't a constant rhythm, but there were steady rhymes in the words that made it easy to read each one. It's a delicate balance between just enough and too much that the author does well. I found myself reading through the poems very quickly and only stopping to reread the ones I enjoyed more.
Whether it was the loss of love or other things in life, or the complex understanding that not everything works out for the better, but one must keep moving forward, the theme of the underdog was woven through these poems.
Some of my favorite ones are 'Atlas' and 'Tree of Life'. My favorite poems all talk about life, the struggles, and the imperfect perfection inside each of us. Writing about the bold and beautiful is easy, but it takes rawness to talk about the struggles. I admire the author for their outlook on life. This book is summed up perfectly in these few lines toward the end;
"I felt ALL at once
I felt its Everything."
The author makes you feel everything, all at once, as you read through each piece. They are connected and yet different, just like life.
I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys poetry and reading about life and the underdog in all of us. Due to its excellent editing, my readthrough contained no errors, and there was nothing I would change about it. I give this book five out of five stars for all the reasons I listed above.
******
Underdog Bet
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Poetry by Angela Brown
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Helen Waziri
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I haven’t read this collection, but the way you described the emotional honesty in poems like "Atlas" and "Tree of Life" makes it sound really special. I appreciate poetry that doesn’t shy away from struggle. It’s refreshing to hear that the author gives voice to the overlooked and imperfect parts of life without sugarcoating them.
"I read to remember that the world is wide, and that somewhere between the pages, I am infinite."
— Elara Wyn, Letters Between Quiet Hours
— Elara Wyn, Letters Between Quiet Hours
